Penn Manor coach Todd Mealy called it a test of character.

How would his players respond after last week's upset loss against Reading?

There were two possibilities: The Comets could let the disappointment linger into another subpar performance or they could play inspired football.

They chose the latter.

Penn Manor dominated in the first three quarters and cruised past McCaskey, 41-12, in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One game played at Millersville University Friday night.

"We were really focused going into practice this week," Penn Manor fullback Jared Shearer said. "Last week we didn't play at all like we should have played. Overall, it was a big letdown for us."

On the surface, this may have looked like an easy chance for Penn Manor to rebound. McCaskey hadn't won a game this season, but the Red Tornado had been showing signs of improvement. They came close to beating Wilson and Hempfield the previous two weeks.

Mealy, an assistant at McCaskey for nine seasons prior to taking the Penn Manor job in 2007, was wary of facing his old school.

"Honestly, we were concerned," Mealy said. "McCaskey has a lot of weapons, which is scary. What they've done the first five weeks of the year, those athletes have kept them in ballgames."

Not this time.

Penn Manor was never seriously threatened by its Section One rival. The Comets led 17-0 at halftime and 38-6 after three quarters.

They used all of the options from their diverse offense. Shearer rushed for 46 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback P.J. Rehm had a four-yard scoring run. Red-zone back Garrett Young punched home a TD from the 1. Wideout Demetrius Dixon broke off a 39-yard score on an end around.

McCaskey's offense couldn't keep pace. The Red Tornado was held to 57 net yards and just three first downs in the first half.

"They're a big-play offense," Mealy said. "We felt if we could keep things in front of us defensively and play sound defense, we would have a good performance. That's what we did."

McCaskey (0-6 overall, 0-3 in Section One) saw its losing streak reach 17 games dating back to the 2007 season. The Tornado couldn't build on the progress it seemed to make against Wilson and Hempfield in Weeks 4 and 5.

Coach David Given pointed to a turnover his team made on Penn Manor's 18-yard line in the first quarter as the turning point.

"We just didn't play very well," Given said. "We had an opportunity early to get up on them, 7-3. We fumbled the snap. That kind of took the wind out of our sails. We never rebounded. They got the momentum and never gave it back."

It didn't help that McCaskey quarterback Adrian Westbrook was knocked out of the game with a sprained ankle suffered late in the second quarter.

McCaskey running back Markeith Williams was a bright spot. He rushed 14 times for 125 yards and a touchdown.

Despite the loss to Reading, Penn Manor (5-1, 2-1) remains a factor in Section One. The Comets trail co-leaders Manheim Township and Wilson by one game and will play the Blue Streaks next week.

That's why beating McCaskey was so important and why Mealy was concerned about a possible hangover.

"The jury was out on how we'd perform tonight," Mealy said.

When the verdict came in, it was a good one for Penn Manor.